Experiencing America's Past: A Travel Guide to Museum Villages

Anyone who's visited a restored village or "living history" museum knows how exciting and interesting it can be. This guidebook collects information on 43 different ones located throughout the country, from the Lowell NP in Massachusetts to the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown to Greenfield Village in Michigan to Fort Ross in California. All of these museum villages are similar in that they are often a collection of many different buildings located in a central location offering historic artifacts and furnishings revolving around a particular time period (Colonial Williamsburg, Genesee Country Village in NY) or activity (Shaker Museum, Hopewell Furnace ). The authors give a history of each entry and relate in detail what exactly a visitor might expect to see. Nearby motels/hotels and other local attractions are also listed, and phone numbers, times of operation, costs, and directions are also provided. Published way back in 1994 (second and latest edition), an update is sorely needed. Other than that, the book is still useful (all of these places still exist) and would be helpful to a traveler with these kinds of sites in mind to visit.